I finally had the opportunity to attend this annual conference known as the Polite Society Tactical Conference. Each year, Rangemaster (Tom and Lynn Givens) hosts this 3 day conference in Memphis, TN. Tom and Lynn closed down their range last year so they needed to find a new location to host this event. For the first time since it began 13 years ago it was held at the Memphis Police FTU. It was held this past weekend, Feb 20-22. These were very nice facilities. Tom said this is one of the top 5 Police training facilities in the country.
Over the course of three days, attendees attend whatever classroom sessions, live-fire instruction, and hands-on training sessions they can fit in. There were sessions going on in 2 classrooms, two indoor ranges, and the outdoor range. There is also the "Polite Society Pistol Match", an optional competition. Those that participate are assigned a time to shoot.
The pistol match was a timed event with emphasis on both time and accuracy. Of approximately 180 attendees, about 125 of them participated in the match. The course of fire included two Q targets, shooting from 3 and 5 yards in fairly low light conditions. Each timed sequence started between the targets and on buzzer the shooter moves left or right and engages both targets, 3 shots each. The course of fire included one handed shooting switching between strong and weak hand, and one course requiring a magazine change while moving. After the skills portion, there was a scenario involving a parking lot, a group of people and two bad guys to engage. Starting with hands on a car, engage both targets, one from the left and other from the right. These were falling steel targets dressed up in clothing, so they needed to be engaged until they fell.
On the first day I attended two classroom sessions in the morning. The first was put on by Tiffany Johnson on improving your presentations and covered "7 deadly sins of power point". She showed a neat way to incorporate text messaging into the classroom. Next was "Excited Delirium" by Chuck Haggard. Chuck was LE in Topeka and gave a great presentation. So much information in this one that covered the many underlying causes, common symptoms and the dangers involved. Many interesting stories were shared and it was kept relevant to a broad audience, from first responders to civilians.
In the afternoon I participated in a 3 hour hands-on workshop on "Weapon Retention & Disarms" by Paul Sharp. Paul is a fighter and is in much better shape than most of us. He did a nice job of showing techniques that anyone can use, no matter their size or physical conditioning (or lack thereof). Some simple and useful techniques were practiced on how to react in a close encounter where someone is pointing a gun at you.
Obviously, that is not a situation you ever want to be in. In the end, it seemed very simple. That was his goal, something people could not only do, but retain.
End of the first day was capped off with a great presentation from Tom Givens on "defining the threat". Tom has done extensive evaluation of data on violent crime. He went through some of his findings and also talked about the various sources of information and how/where it can be found. Biggest take aways: Always carry a gun. Memphis is a damn dangerous place. Never go anywhere in Memphis without a gun. And finally, always carry a gun. I knew these take aways already, but the sources of information he has used was very useful.
On the second day I attended four classroom sessions. The first was "Law of Self-Defense" by Andrew Branca. He did a great job of explaining a number of topics related to the prosecution and defense of self defense shootings. Coming from Massachusetts, he illustrated how much locale and political climate of that locale affects the decision to pursue charges. As we know, there are certain places around this country that will always pursue charges, no matter how justified it appears, if any weapon was used in your defense. I bought a couple copies of his book and took advantage of the chance to ask him some questions after the presentation.
Next up was "Tactical Communication for Couples" by Claude Werner. This presentation centered on communication and cooperation between couples during emergencies. This was a session I was really looking forward to. As civilians, we focus on individual tactics and team tactics are for LE/MIL. So where you have a couple that are both engaged in self defense, how do you work together?
This class didn't really provide an answer to that question. What it brought forward was the importance of having honest discussions about roles and how you may work together. Yes, it means having a plan! In situations were there is a spouse with no shared interest in firearms or self defense, there are still roles that can and should be worked out. That includes children that live with you. Those roles may be calling 911, or shepherding others to safety, etc. There was a lot of good information. It helped raise a lot of questions for further exploration. One suggestion for couples when you stop for gas. One of you pumps while the other watches over the environment, acting as security.
After lunch I attended Fatal Choices, by William Aprill. William is from New Orleans and is a licensed psychologist with a law enforcement background. This was an interesting presentation on how criminals select their targets. Some very interesting concepts in this one. Last presentation of the day was "Urban Terrorism" by Martin Topper. Some good information in this one, but I kept thinking of Tiffany and her presentation the day before. I was thankful she wasn't watching this presentation as I think he committed all 7 sins of presentation. The information was very informative, and he was an interesting speaker when he was just talking. Too much of it was just him reading complete paragraphs on a slide. That made the presentation seem much longer.
On Day 3 I began the day with "Training / Reality Mismatch" by Gary Greco. He actually gave three different presentations, one hour each. The mismatch part is obvious to many, and ignored by others. Basically spelling out that good training is realistic about the usefulness and applicability. Edu-tainment may be fun but isn't particularly useful. I don't ever see myself needing to repel from a helicopter. A course that offers that may be a lot of fun. It isn't helpful in developing / enhancing the skills you need. Best suggestion: rather than buy more uber cool crap, buy more ammo and shoot more. The next hour was some insight into the middle east. It was interesting to hear some insight from an intelligence community insider. Nothing classified was shared of course, but it was certainly a unique perspective when talking about the middle east. Greco has spent 9 of the past 12 years in the middle east.
Always looking to learn, I thought it would be interesting to attend "Women’s Holsters" by Lori Bigley. It was interesting. One hot topic of conversion lately has been the tragic event where a woman shot herself in the face while adjusting a bra holster. We don't know the brand, don't know the details, don't know much beyond the unfortunate death of the owner. So of course much time was spent discussion that type of holster. This does not appear to be a design that encourages in place re-holstering. Once your gun is deployed, your done. Best to remove the holster first, re-holster, then reattach. The brands I saw appear safe in design, being a kydex clamshell that fully covers the trigger guard.
Belly bands got a lot of discussion as well. I did learn about some newer items coming to market that sound kinda neat. I don't know how much I'll apply any of that information but I found it educational.
The last session of the day for me was "Close Range Handgun Threat: Empty Hand Skills" by Greg Ellifritz, a well known instructor with Tactical Defense Institute. Greg is a very personable guy and he did a great job of picking some useful skills to work on that everyone in attendance could understand and achieve. I have a strong appreciation for instructors that are able to keep students of differing levels of experience equally engaged. He did a great job of building up from a basic starting point. The exercises really emphasized the importance of body positioning for leverage. I would love to attend one of Greg's 2 day classes. Unfortunately, he doesn't travel west of Ohio, so it would require some travel on my part. I was excited to learn he has a book coming out in a couple months. That's now on my list of books to get.
There were so many excellent blocks I wished I could have attended. Folks like Southnarc, Keepers, Ayoob, Hearne all were there giving some excellent instruction. I'm very happy with what I attended and plan on returning to the Tactical conference regularly. I believe in continually learning, and this is one great source of a wide variety of topics from many experts in their field. It also gave me a chance to "sample" some of the instructors style and content to see whom I'm willing to spend my money on to travel and attend a full class.
